Joint Employment in the United States

The joint-employer doctrine in the United States is as fissured as the economy itself. As this paper’s brief survey of the different joint-employer standards used in the U.S. shows, the diverse set of work laws and governing authorities involved in workplace disputes have led to an unpredictable and...

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Main Author: Jeffrey M. Hirsch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Bologna 2020-07-01
Series:Italian Labour Law e-Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://illej.unibo.it/article/view/11204
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author Jeffrey M. Hirsch
author_facet Jeffrey M. Hirsch
author_sort Jeffrey M. Hirsch
collection DOAJ
description The joint-employer doctrine in the United States is as fissured as the economy itself. As this paper’s brief survey of the different joint-employer standards used in the U.S. shows, the diverse set of work laws and governing authorities involved in workplace disputes have led to an unpredictable and confusing set of joint-employer standards. A lthough most of these standards share similarities, there are numerous differences based on the statute involved, whether the dispute is brought under federal or state law, which federal court is hearing the case, and which political party controls a relevant agency. Moreover, thanks in large part to a labor law action against McDonald’s, the joint-employer doctrine has become a politically charged issue, leading several federal agencies recently to change their approach to the question. As a result, businesses and workers cannot be certain that the relevant joint employer standard that exists today will be the same one that applies later. In short, joint employment in the U.S. consists of a complex set of standards that lack clarity and predictability, imposing costs on businesses and workers alike.
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spelling doaj.art-b0390e7a40ed46cd86ae03c5a145ab192022-12-21T19:20:50ZengUniversity of BolognaItalian Labour Law e-Journal1561-80482020-07-01131556910.6092/issn.1561-8048/112049442Joint Employment in the United StatesJeffrey M. Hirsch0University of North Carolina School of LawThe joint-employer doctrine in the United States is as fissured as the economy itself. As this paper’s brief survey of the different joint-employer standards used in the U.S. shows, the diverse set of work laws and governing authorities involved in workplace disputes have led to an unpredictable and confusing set of joint-employer standards. A lthough most of these standards share similarities, there are numerous differences based on the statute involved, whether the dispute is brought under federal or state law, which federal court is hearing the case, and which political party controls a relevant agency. Moreover, thanks in large part to a labor law action against McDonald’s, the joint-employer doctrine has become a politically charged issue, leading several federal agencies recently to change their approach to the question. As a result, businesses and workers cannot be certain that the relevant joint employer standard that exists today will be the same one that applies later. In short, joint employment in the U.S. consists of a complex set of standards that lack clarity and predictability, imposing costs on businesses and workers alike.https://illej.unibo.it/article/view/11204joint employerlabour lawemployment lawemployment discriminationstatutory interpretation
spellingShingle Jeffrey M. Hirsch
Joint Employment in the United States
Italian Labour Law e-Journal
joint employer
labour law
employment law
employment discrimination
statutory interpretation
title Joint Employment in the United States
title_full Joint Employment in the United States
title_fullStr Joint Employment in the United States
title_full_unstemmed Joint Employment in the United States
title_short Joint Employment in the United States
title_sort joint employment in the united states
topic joint employer
labour law
employment law
employment discrimination
statutory interpretation
url https://illej.unibo.it/article/view/11204
work_keys_str_mv AT jeffreymhirsch jointemploymentintheunitedstates